At Rathfern Primary School, we provide opportunities to develop children’s knowledge and understanding of world religions. They have regular opportunities to reflect on the challenging questions that it provokes.
Though our RE curriculum we aim to develop 3 different types of knowledge .These broad types of knowledge are ‘pillars of progression’ within RE.
- first, ‘substantive’ knowledge: knowledge about various religious and non-religious traditions
- second, ‘ways of knowing’: pupils learn ‘how to know’ about religion and non-religion
- third, ‘personal knowledge’: pupils build an awareness of their own presuppositions and values about the religious and non-religious traditions they study
Our core values at Rathfern are embedded throughout RE and are at the heart of how we teach the curriculum. We ensure that our RE lessons provoke challenging questions about the ultimate meaning and purpose of life, beliefs about God, the self and the nature of reality, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human. It encourages pupils to learn from different religions, beliefs, values and traditions while exploring their own beliefs, encouraging children to develop a sense of personal identity and belonging.
Through discussion and debate our pupils explore how they might contribute to their own communities and the wider world, thus promoting social awareness and understanding of others.
We aim to provide a curriculum which:
- Encourages children to ask and reflect on challenging questions about religions, respectfully and openly.
- Promotes children to appreciate and respect the different cultures in today’s society including their own community.
- Provides opportunities for personal reflection where children can explore their own beliefs (not necessarily religious) and how they can contribute to their own local communities.
- Develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding of different religions and consider how the beliefs of others influences their lives and the lives of others.
- Is rich in creativity using Art, Music, Drama and outdoor learning, allowing children opportunities to learn through creative, motivating and interactive experiences.
- Allows children to be individually reflective of their own beliefs and ideas, strengthening children’s ability to learn and articulate their learning at a deeper level.
- Encourages creativity, imagination, enquiry, debate, discussion and independence in order to develop their love of learning, and understanding of the world they live in.
At Rathfern Primary School we follow the Lewisham Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education as the basis for our curriculum. Having considered the requirements and guidelines presented in the Agreed Syllabus, the following religions have been selected for study:
KS1
- Christianity
- Judaism
- Hinduism
KS2
- Christianity
- Judaism
- Islam
- Budhhism
At Rathfern, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), is strongly embedded into every strand of our school’s culture. In this interdependent world that we live in, every child as a global citizen is aware of the responsibilities and differences they can make to benefit the community around them. Children make links to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) also within our R.E. curriculum which creates a platform to reflect on their Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC) responsibility as future citizens. Our R.E. curriculum opens wide the doors to all children, to have a deeper and broader understanding of this rich kaleidoscope of religions, beliefs and practices that our families follow and develops a cohesive community, rich in multi-religious practices.
